quinta-feira, 13 de outubro de 2011

Cartoon: Last Chance Saloon

This cartoon by Schrank fromThe Independentrelates to thephone hacking scandal which has engulfedRupert Murdoch's media empire and led to theclosure of the News of the World.

The cartoon shows News International's Chief ExecutiveRebekah Brooksdrinking in the ruins of the Last Chance Saloon. The giant figure of Rupert Murdoch is the only thing stopping her from falling off the edge of the cliff along with others involved in the scandal (and many who were not). Meanwhile, vultures circle overhead.

EXPLANATION

For the moment, Rupert Murdoch continues togive Rebekah Brooks his 'total' support. However, an increasing number of people, including Labor leaderEd Miliband, are calling for her to go, so one wonders how much longer she can survive, especially if more damaging revelations appear.

IDIOM

If you say that someone is "drinking in the Last Chance Saloon", you mean that they are faced with a situation beyond which hope or good fortune will greatly diminish.

Last Chance Saloonwas a popular name of a type of bar in the United States which began to appear in the 19th century. Saloons situated near areas where alcohol was not easily obtainable frequently took the name as a literal indication to customers that this was their final opportunity to imbibe before progressing to an area where obtaining, selling or drinking alcoholic drinks was prohibited.

The expression often lends itself to newspaper headlines, as it describes a complex situation in a relatively scant number of letters. Home Office minister David Mellor in a December 1989 television interview asserted: "I do believe the press - the popular press - is drinking in the Last Chance Saloon". The ethics of the British press were then being scrutinized by the Calcutt Committee and the phrase caught on. In another example, John Major's 1995 attempt to stave off critics by calling for a Conservative Party leadership election was famously headlined in The Independent as "John Major's Last Chance Saloon" (source:Wikipedia)